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Italian Grocery · Olive Salad Sandwich

Muffuletta

Muffuletta — street food from Louisiana, United States
Photo: veganheathen / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0

It was invented in 1906 by Sicilian immigrant Salvatore Lupo at Central Grocery, who combined the round sesame loaf and antipasto ingredients Italian dockworkers were already buying separately.

This round sesame-seed loaf is layered with ham, salami, mortadella, and provolone, then piled with a tangy chopped olive salad. Whole muffulettas are cut into wedges and sold by the slice from French Quarter grocery counters.

Why it's made this way: It grew directly out of the French Quarter's Sicilian immigrant community and the produce market where they worked and shopped.
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Part of World of Street Food — 690 dishes from 118 countries. Something wrong here? Tell us in the comments below. Photo credits.